Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

As it is the height of the tourism season, it is too late to debate the current season but I ask for a general debate on tourism in advance of next year's season. The tourism season in County Donegal is not materialising and we are relying on the Northern Ireland market to keep us going. The hundreds of thousands of euro being pumped into marketing are not working.

County Donegal has a quality tourism product on the ground with quality landscapes and scenery. While people speak with goodwill about how great and nice the county is, tourists are not coming. We need an all-Ireland marketing strategy. Fáilte Ireland is the all-Ireland marketing body. Why are tourism figures in Derry, just a few miles across the Border, at an all-time high, when nothing is happening on the Donegal side of the Border? We need a serious debate on the issue.